The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has published its semiannual agenda of regulations in the Federal Register to inform the public of the Corporation's regulatory actions and encourage participation in the rulemaking process.

Many of the actions are the result of the FDIC Board's ongoing efforts to reduce the regulatory burden on banks, simplify rules, improve efficiency, and comply with the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994.

The agenda contains 25 regulatory actions. Five actions have been completed and the rest are in various stages of the rulemaking process. Highlights follow.

In November 1999, the Board rescinded a requirement that insured state nonmember banks that are municipal securities dealers file with the FDIC certain information about people who are or seek to be associated with them as municipal securities principals or municipal securities representatives. (12 CFR 343)

The Board in September 1999 proposed several changes to the FDIC's regulations governing deposit insurance assessments. One proposed change would base capital group determinations under the risk-based assessment system on financial data for the quarter ending three months before the beginning of the assessment period, instead of six months as at present. Another change would shorten from 30 days to 15 days the period for notifying institutions of their assessment risk classification before their next insurance payment is due. However, the FDIC also proposed to increase from 30 days to 90 days the time in which an institution may request a review of its assessment risk classification. (12 CFR 327)

In October 1999, the Board finalized an interagency rule extending from 12 months to 18 months the examination cycle for U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks that meet certain criteria. This rule implements section 2214 of the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996. (12 CFR 347)

The Board in September 1999 amended the management interlocks rules that generally prohibit bank officials from serving simultaneously with two unaffiliated depository institutions or their holding companies. The amendment conforms the rules to recent statutory changes, modernizes and clarifies the rules, and reduces unnecessary regulatory burdens. (12 CFR 348)

Attached is a copy of the Semiannual Regulatory Agenda that appeared in the November 22, 1999, Federal Register, which contains all 25 final or planned rule changes.

The recently enacted financial services modernization law (the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999) requires rulemakings by the FDIC and other regulators in areas such as privacy, fair credit reporting, and consumer protections involving insurance products offered by banks. The FDIC's future Semiannual Regulatory Agendas will describe these rulemakings as they are developed.

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Congress created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 1933 to restore public confidence in the nation's banking system. The FDIC insures deposits at the nation's 10,327 banks and savings associations and it promotes the safety and soundness of these institutions by identifying, monitoring and addressing risks to which they are exposed.

FDIC press releases and other information, including today's quarterly listing, are available on the Internet via the World Wide Web at www.fdic.gov and may also be obtained through the FDIC's Public Information Center (800-276-6003 or (703) 562-2200).